“There is art displayed throughout the hotel. All of the corridors will have video art installations on a constant loop, and you’ll be able to get an overview from a specific channel on the TV in your room. Here I am in the gym, as decorated by talented Italian artist Daniele Innamorato.”

“I wanted for this to be a hotel that welcomes everyone, a truly open place. I chose the bell as the central motif in the lobby because it represents so many positive things; most of which bring people together. Mealtimes, for example.”

“In this void, which forms the atrium of the hotel, I wanted to do something really special with light. The whole space is open to the stars, so rather than just hanging a lamp, here is something that looks like it is part of the universe, or some vision of the universe. There are 300 LEDs inside some of those things.”

“I love my work. I was never going to be happy with large portions of white wall. What’s special about Amsterdam is that the city is able to connect worlds that are not otherwise connected. The city is very open-minded and welcoming and the three crosses—the symbol of Amsterdam—in the middle of this fish mural connect two elements that seem to have no connection. I love this mural because it feels like you have a fantastic sculpture inside your space.”

“This is a bespoke high-backed chair designed especially for the hotel. You’ll find them in the lobby and the private dining rooms as well as the bedrooms. They have a real sense of occasion.”

“When I wrote my book about Amsterdam, the main objective was to talk about the city’s creativity rather than just its design. This wallpaper—in the bathrooms of the hotel rooms—is a representation of the universe of thought and ideas that the city encompasses, from the philosopher Spinoza to the footballer Johan Cruyff. A lot of the creativity here came from the fact that people from elsewhere came here to collaborate in an experiment.”

“I started to work with the traditional Dutch iconography of Delft blue something like five years ago and those paintings were always so detailed; it’s kind of like it was their mission to spend as much time on each item as possible. I gave myself one minute to create each of these basin paintings because I want to make things within the industry that are completely individual. I’ve personally created 124 different basins for each room of the hotel.”

“This is a special concrete table custom-made for the hotel. It has a mirror connected to it and it has the three crosses of the city, which stand for the motto ‘Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhaftig,’ or ‘Valiant, Steadfast, Compassionate.'”

“We’ve been playing with the extent to which we can implement elements of Amsterdam which are fun and beautiful and to make sure that we’re not a typical tourist hotel. The wooden shoe has a yellow and red decoration and the shape was completely fit for purpose in terms of this idea. It’s a pair of people screaming to wake you and drive you into the city. I’m not always an early riser; sometimes I could use a pair of these myself.”

“The whole hotel, which was formerly a city library, has something of an ‘Alice in Amsterdam’ feel to it. This is my mural design in the garden that connects the two buildings and unifies the space. The ‘Eat Me’ idea is carried into Bluespoon, the restaurant.”